The European Parliament calls for the EU to mobilise significantly more financial resources - in the form of new money - to help developing countries cope with the disproportionate direct and indirect consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and to meet their essential needs in terms of health governance and epidemiological surveillance.
The own-initiative resolution the institution adopted on Thursday 24 June (443 votes in favour, 40 against and 209 abstentions) on the role of EU development and humanitarian aid in this regard stresses that one of the first steps must be the rapid and equitable global deployment of vaccines.
MEPs believe that safe vaccines should be made easily accessible and affordable for all and that health workers and the most vulnerable should be given priority.
Parliament calls on the EU to focus funding on helping developing country governments rebuild and strengthen their health, education and economic systems. It emphasises the essential support for disproportionately affected communities - refugees, migrant workers and pastoral farmers.
Fearing a humanitarian crisis in these countries, Parliament calls in particular for the speedy implementation of emergency food aid programmes for those already recognised as vulnerable before the Covid-19 crisis.
Parliament welcomes the EU’s global response, but points out that current funds are mainly reallocated from other budget lines. It requires that the criteria for allocations be updated according to the impact of the pandemic in partner countries.
Parliament is also deeply concerned about the under-funding of the EU humanitarian aid budget, given the additional humanitarian needs caused by the pandemic.
See the resolution: https://bit.ly/3wVaepJ (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)